Meg Ryan, Queen of Rom-Coms, Is Working on Her Own

Meg Ryan, the undisputed queen of romantic comedies, is taking her signature Hollywood marker to the next level: by developing her own. The actress—whose turns in sappy, love-filled guilty-pleasure flicks like You’ve Got Mail, When Harry Met Sally, and Sleepless in Seattle are iconic examples of the genre—revealed in a new interview with The New York Times Magazine that she now has her own romantic comedy in the works.

“It’s at Working Title Films,” she told the magazine. “I’ll just leave it at that. Getting the green light, David. My God. You feel like you’re jinxing it if you’re talking about it. Hopefully it’s for me to direct. I’m aware now that romantic comedies are confections, but they have construction. There’s architecture. It’s not something I was aware of back then.”

Though few details were shared regarding the premise of Ryan’s new film, she did drive home the message that it would be a rom-com with punch, referencing the inimitable works of the late Nora Ephron, who directed many of the most loved films Ryan starred in. “[Ephron’s] observation about romantic comedies is that they were commenting on their time in an intelligent way, but with the intention to delight,” Ryan said. As for a potential cast? That’s also kept mum, though Ryan did point out a few current stars who she believes has the charm to carry such a rom-com. “Real charm is probably innate. It’s just there or not. I can see it in people like Jennifer Lawrence or Emma Stone or Ryan Gosling,” she said.

In addition, Ryan shared that she is also working on a TV series with Lorne Michaels for NBC. “It’s not really a sitcom,” Ryan said. “Right now I’d be producing. Maybe I’ll act in it. I don’t know. It’s a limited series, three seasons. A murder mystery. A comedy. A murder-mystery comedy.” We’re in!

If she did indeed star in the new TV project, it would be a major return for Ryan, whose last film role was in Ithaca in 2015, which she also directed. In her Times interview, she spoke about taking a similar hiatus from Hollywood after being one of the most famous women in the world during the 1980s and ’90s. “I think the feeling with Hollywood was mutual,” she said. “I felt done when they felt done, probably.” It looks like Hollywood’s finally ready for her once again.